Historian wants to hear stories of Darrington

Published 10:46 pm Thursday, October 23, 2008

DARRINGTON — Regional historian Noel Bourasaw has issued a disclaimer about his presentation set for Saturday at a free event sponsored by the Darrington Historical Society.

“I am not an ‘expert’ and I will not be ‘lecturing’ about your Snohomish County history,” Bourasaw wrote recently on the Web site for his Sedro-­Woolley-based periodical, the Skagit River Journal.

Instead, Bourasaw plans to share some of his research on local pioneers and offer a slide show of historical photos from the Darrington and Sauk- Suiattle area. His primary intent, however, is to collect memories from those who have lived in the region.

Bourasaw is scheduled to be at the Mansford Grange from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The grange is located behind the IGA grocery store on Highway 530 in Darrington.

The program is one of many that the historical society plans to present this year, society president Leah Tyson said.

“We hope many people will show up for the history show on Saturday,” Tyson said. “It’s a very interactive, hands-on program and audience participation is requested.”

Those who plan to attend are urged to bring along their scrapbooks, old photos and documents to share, Tyson said.

Descendants of Darrington, Monte Cristo and Sauk- Suiattle pioneers and miners, as well as the relatives of the late history writers Sam Strom, Nels Bruseth, the Bedal family and Alice Elinor Lambert, are especially encouraged to attend, Bourasaw said. Those who have paintings by Bruseth also are asked to bring the artwork to the meeting.

For more information about Bourasaw, go online to www.skagitriverjournal.com.

To learn more about the Darrington Historical Society or to join the group, call Tyson at 360-436-0675.

Reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427 or gfiege@heraldnet.com.